Honeylocust
(Gleditsia
triacanthos L)
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Honeylocust
is found scattered throughout the state, except in the high mountains.
It grows under a wide variety of soil and moisture conditions.
It sometimes grows in the forest, but more commonly grows beside
roads and fields. Honeylocust leaves are 7 to 8 inches long, pinnately
compound and often bipinnately compound. (See forward for drawings
of pinnately and bipinnately compound leaves.) Leaflets are oval,
1 to 1/2 inches long and are a shiny dark green above and dull
yellow-green below. Bipinnate leaves have four to seven pairs
of pinnae, each with 15 to 30 leaflets. Branches and trunk are
armed with stout, rigid, three-forked spines that are 2 to 3 inches
long. The fruit is a flat, dark brown pod 12 to 18 inches long,
containing oval seeds. Pods twist into corkscrew shapes before
falling in autumn or early winter. Trees typically reach heights
of 50 to 80 feet, with trunk diameters of 2 to 3 feet. The crown
is broad and flat topped. Honeylocust bark is dark brown or gray
and is divided into narrow, flat plates. The wood is coarse-grained,
hard, strong and moderately resistant to decay. It is used for
fenceposts and crossties. It should not be confused with the much
darker and very durable wood of the black locust. |
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